2018 OH Governor's race: on Drugs

Mike DeWine: Opposes recreational marijuana; opposes Ballot issue 1

Richard Cordray (D): Would legalize. Supports Issue 1 as alternative to failed drug & incarceration policies. "Can't arrest way out of opioid crisis," so fund treatment & prevention programs, train law enforcement, & boost state support for families.

Mike DeWine (R): Opposes recreational marijuana legalization or decriminalization. Sued Toledo when the city passed municipal decriminalization. Also opposes Issue 1. To help address opioid crisis, expand substance-abuse & early intervention programs, and add drug courts.

Richard Cordray: Can't arrest way out of opioid crisis

Richard Cordray (D): Would legalize. Supports Issue 1 as alternative to failed drug & incarceration policies. "Can't arrest way out of opioid crisis," so fund treatment & prevention programs, train law enforcement, & boost state support for families.

Mike DeWine (R): Opposes recreational marijuana legalization or decriminalization. Sued Toledo when the city passed municipal decriminalization. Also opposes Issue 1. To help address opioid crisis, expand substance-abuse & early intervention programs, and add drug courts.

Mike DeWine: Keep low-level drug use a felony instead of a misdemeanor

"It's important for low-level offenders to not be in the prison system," the second-term Republican governor said, adding he wants to study the issue further. It is opposed by Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Republican candidate for governor, and supported by his opponent, Democrat Richard Cordray.

Richard Cordray: Make low-level drug use a misdemeanor; treatment not prison

"It's important for low-level offenders to not be in the prison system," the second-term Republican governor said, adding he wants to study the issue further. It is opposed by Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Republican candidate for governor, and supported by his opponent, Democrat Richard Cordray.

Richard Cordray: We cannot arrest our way out of opioid crisis: tackle causes

Mary Taylor: Focus on prevention and reducing the supply of drugs

• Further Change the culture around prescribing opioids
• Jump starting a private sector treatment system
• Raising awareness and addressing mental health challenges
• Coordinating efforts and supporting law enforcement to keep drugs off the streets
  Mary Taylor will leverage the relationships she has established with the Trump Administration as well as the leaders of the Great Lakes states and provinces to develop a collaborative approach to stopping illegal drugs at our borders; to collecting, sharing, and utilizing data; and to taking drug dealers and distributors off the streets. She will also fund new narcotics officers and other resources to level the playing field for law enforcement. Source: 2018 Ohio Governor campaign site MaryTaylorForGovernor.com Mar 21, 2018

  Nan Whaley: Ohio's heroin epidemic caused by drug companies

  The heroin epidemic is no accident. It didn't just happen. It started with the drug companies. The drug companies made this mess, and it's time they stopped passing the buck to Ohio's taxpayers and started paying to clean it up. Source: 2018 Ohio Gubernatorial website NanWhaleyForOhio.com Aug 8, 2017

  Jon Husted: If #1 in jobs & education, Ohio wouldn't be #1 in opioids

  On the opioid epidemic: "Right now, Ohio is number one in opioid deaths, and that is unacceptable," he said. "If we were number one in job training and education, I promise you we would not be number one in opioid deaths. So it's also about giving people hope and purpose in their lives so they don't turn to drugs and alcohol as a way of coping with the pain in their lives." Source: Chillicothe Gazette on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race May 11, 2017

  John Kasich: No mixed message: don't do opioids & don't do marijuana

  Gov. John Kasich said he doesn't think Ohio's new medical marijuana program will help mitigate the state's opioid crisis, though recent studies indicate otherwise.

  Kasich was asked at a news conference announcing new opioid prescription limits what role medical marijuana might play in addressing the growing number of opiate overdose deaths in Ohio. Kasich said telling kids not to do drugs but that marijuana is OK sends a mixed message. "I know it's not recreational marijuana, not recreational use, but I don't see a role for it in this at all," Kasich said.

  Studies have shown opioid overdoses and deaths have decreased in states that allow medical marijuana, which is far less addictive and lethal. Republicans and Democrats cited the opioid crisis as a reason to pass Ohio's medical marijuana law last year.

  "I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."

  Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race Mar 30, 2017

  John Kasich: 2016: Legalized medical marijuana, with tight regulations

  Twenty-eight states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana use. Ohio's medical marijuana law, signed by Kasich last June, allows patients with one of 21 medical conditions to buy and use marijuana if recommended to them by a physician. Smoking marijuana and growing it at home are not allowed.

  Three state agencies are in the process of establishing a tightly regulated program to grow and sell medical marijuana in limited amounts.

  Studies have shown marijuana can alleviate pain. The most recent study found hospitalization rates for painkiller addiction and abuse dropped 23% on average in states after they allowed medical marijuana use. Hospitalization rates for overdoses dropped 13%, according to the report published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

  "I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."

  Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race Mar 30, 2017

  Mike DeWine: Age-appropriate discussions in Kindergarten thru 12th grade

  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine outlined proposals to restrict opioid abuse statewide. DeWine spoke with area law enforcement officials during a meeting of the Metro Toledo Criminal Justice Administrators in Oregon. He reiterated his support for their agencies and encouraged ideas for curtailing heroin use.

  Accidental overdoses killed an average of eight people each day last year in Ohio. That total appears to still be climbing, he said. "I don't know that we've hit the bottom yet," he said.

  It is encouraging, he added, that many now acknowledge this problem and are working toward a solution. DeWine suggested expanding the school curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade with age-appropriate discussions on drugs. Reaching so many youth from an early stage is common sense, he said.

  Source: Toledo Blade on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race Jan 28, 2017

  The above quotations are from 2018 Ohio Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage. Click here for definitions & background information on Drugs. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by John Kasich on Drugs. Click here for more quotes by Mike DeWine on Drugs.
  Candidates and political leaders on Drugs:
  Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015: GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) MT:Baucus(D) NE:Johanns(R) OK:Coburn(R) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) Resigned from 113th House: AL-1:Jo Bonner(R) FL-19:Trey Radel(R) LA-5:Rod Alexander(R) MA-5:Ed Markey(D) MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R) NC-12:Melvin Watt(D) SC-1:Tim Scott(R)	Retired House to run for Senate or Governor: AR-4:Tom Cotton(R) GA-1:Jack Kingston(R) GA-10:Paul Broun(R) GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R) HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D) IA-1:Bruce Braley(D) LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R) ME-2:Mike Michaud(D) MI-14:Gary Peters(D) MT-0:Steve Daines(R) OK-5:James Lankford(R) PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D) TX-36:Steve Stockman(R) WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)	Retired House as of Jan. 2015: AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R) AR-2:Tim Griffin(R) CA-11:George Miller(D) CA-25:Howard McKeon(R) CA-33:Henry Waxman(D) CA-45:John Campbell(R) IA-3:Tom Latham(R) MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R) NC-6:Howard Coble(R) NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D) NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R) NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D) NY-21:Bill Owens(D) PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R) UT-4:Jim Matheson(D) VA-8:Jim Moran(D) VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
  Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

  
  Page last updated: Jan 13, 2019